Dr. Bill Bernet, lead a group of interested professionals in encouraging the DSM 5 editing group to include Parental Alienation Disorder. The new DSM was published on May 18, 2013 and is the reference book for psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health providers Here is Dr. Bernet's unedited analysis of the result.

Finally, DSM-5 was published today. The DSM-5 Task Force told us 2 or 3 years ago that they did not want parental alienation to be a separate diagnosis in DSM-5, but they thought that parental alienation could be considered an example of other diagnoses that are in DSM-5.

The actual words "parental alienation" are not in DSM-5, but there are several diagnoses that can be used in these cases. I would say the "spirit" of parental alienation is in DSM-5, even if the words are not.

Parent-child relational problem now has a discussion in DSM-5, not just a label. The discussion explains that cognitive problems in parent-child relational problem "may include negative attributions of the other's intentions, hostility toward or scapegoating of the other, and unwarranted feelings of estrangement." That is a pretty good description of a child's view of the alienated parent, although it is an unfortunate use of the word "estrangement."

Child psychological abuse is a new diagnosis in DSM-5. It is defined as "nonaccidental verbal or symbolic acts by a child's parent or caregiver that result, or have reasonable potential to result, in significant psychological harm to the child." In many instances, the behavior of the alienating parent constitutes child psychological abuse.

Child affected by parental relationship distress is another new diagnosis in DSM-5. It should be used "when the focus of clinical attention if the negative effects of parental relationship discord (e.g., high levels of conflict, distress, or disparagement) on a child in the family, including effects on the child's mental or other physical disorders." That is also a good description of how parental alienation comes about.

Factitious disorder imposed on another is the DSM-5 terminology for factitious disorder by proxy or Munchausen disorder by proxy. Its definition is "falsification of physical or psychological signs or symptoms, or induction of injury or disease, in another, associated with identified deception." In some cases, that would describe the behavior of the alienating parent.

Delusional symptoms in partner of individual with delusional disorder is the DSM-5 terminology for shared psychotic disorder or folie a deux. The definition is: "In the context of a relationship, the delusional material from the dominant partner provides content for delusional belief by the individual who may not otherwise entirely meet criteria for delusional disorder."

In discussing this topic, I would say that the concept of parental alienation is clearly in DSM-5, although the actual words are not. This is a great improvement over DSM-IV-TR, especially with the addition of the new diagnoses, child psychological abuse and child affected by parental relationship distress.

Dr. Bernet is currently working with PAAO to present a webinar on this subject in the next 2 - 3 weeks. We will notify you of the details shortly.

This beautiful animation above was created especially for Bubbles of Love Day on behalf of Kids Aiding the PAAO (KAPAAO).

Thank you to the very talented Bronwyn Coveney, from the United kingdom for volunteering her time and talent on behalf of children around the world. Bronwyn is the original visual creator of the PAAO and KAPAAO's, Mascot Panda Abuzz.

Memories of a Monster: A closer look at Parental Alienation
Using a storyline from an episode of Desperate Housewives, "Always in Control" (S08-Ep7), Joe Barrow walks us through the insidious brainwashing of a young daughter, Penny, by her mother, Lynette. When Lynette's ex-husband (Penny's father) begins dating a new woman and a relationship begins to flourish between the new girlfriend and their daughter, Penny, the mother is determined to drive a wedge between the loving relationship of her daughter has with her ex-husband, and the new girlfriend. Using a child as a pawn always has tragic consequences. The Parental Alienation tactics used and the manipulation by the mother mirrors the nightmarish reality that hundreds of thousands of parents and grandparents live through today. If you are dealing with this tragedy this mini -documentary will hit you, perhaps, too close to home. Watch in HD. Desperate Housewives is the property of Cherry Productions (Touchstone Television (2004-2007), ABC Studios (2007-2012), and DISNEY. No copyright infringement intended. This video may contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are using this video to help raise awareness of Parental Alienation as a form of psychological child abuse. This video is not-for-profit use and for informational and educational purposes only and constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law.We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of social issues of parental alienation as a form of emotional and psychological child abuse. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
Posted by Joe Barrow on Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Firstly: In the movie, High Anxiety, anxiety-neurotic psychiatrist, Mel Brooks, practices at the Institute for the Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, Very Nervous, and no one seems to have an issue with an anxiety-neurotic psychiatrist.

But more seriously, there is always a kernel of truth in all fiction. In the professional opinion of this family therapist, it is a despicable common practice to use the alleged (and I will shortly explain why I use the word “alleged”) diagnoses of depression and/or anxiety of targeted parents as an excuse to minimize or sever their relationships with their children or to base a decision regarding custody on this. Furthermore, it is as if such diagnoses are interpreted to be equivalent to pedophilia, characterlogical disorders, socio-pathology, or any other Axis II diagnoses, which are untreatable. As convoluted as the system is, the alienator most often has an Axis II diagnosis, which is where narcissistic personality disorder is diagnosed. Anxiety and depression, should they truly exist, are treatable Axis I diagnoses.

"The APA uses a statistic called kappa to measure the reliability of different diagnoses. The higher the value of kappa, the more reliable the diagnosis, with 1.0 representing perfect reliability. The APA considers a diagnosis with a kappa of .08 or higher miraculously reliable; 0.6 to 0.8 is excellent; 0.4 to 0.6 is good; 0.2 to 0.4 “could be accepted” and anything below 0.2 is unacceptably unreliable." ~ Ferris Jabr

I emphasize here the words “could be accepted.” Would anyone in their right mind, not to be facetious here, undergo a risky surgery on a diagnosis expressed as “you COULD have x disease?”

So given the frequency of the diagnoses of anxiety and depression and given the frequent remedy of prescribing heavy-duty psychotropic medications which have severe side effects, one would think that anxiety and depression each had a kappa score of at least .6 and preferably higher. Well, surprise, surprise! Depression has a score of only .03, and anxiety has a score of only point 0.2.

So what does this mean to all of you targeted/alienated parents whose alleged diagnoses of depression and/or anxiety are being used against you in custody battles for your children? It means that you most likely DO NOT HAVE a disease! This is not to say you do not have the symptoms of depression and anxiety. According to this family therapist, whose mentor was the world-renowned, highly respected child psychiatrist, Salvador Minuchin, it means that your symptoms (not disease) are situationally caused and maintained. Who could dispute that, having your relationship with your child minimized, undermined, if not severed, would not cause you to have such symptoms? Traumatic circumstances, and usually physical and sexual abuse, have occurred in every case of every patient whom I treated for the “alleged” diagnosis of bipolar disorder! Scratch the surface for anyone exhibiting the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and I can virtually guarantee a situational explanation of humiliation, abuse, deprecation, and/or some form of trauma. The point made in this article is supported by the information in a previous post I made of a 60 minute documentary regarding Harvard researcher, Irving Kirsch, who discovered that placebos are equally effective as antidepressants in the treatment of mild to moderate depression, which account for most cases of depression.

So now you have the counter argument for your attorney and which must be made if you are accused of having one or both of these mythical diseases. Make sure you download and print the link to the Scientific American article for your records. You may also wish to buttress your argument that you do not have a disease by garnering support from Dr. Minuchin. His book, Family Therapy Techniques is the easiest way to excerpt his professional opinion that symptoms are maintained by unhealthy relationships and trauma rather than being indicative of an intra-psychic disease.

Secondly: Let us return to the kappa statistic, which measures the reliability of a diagnosis. PAS-aware professionals----therapists, forensic evaluators, family coaches, and matrimonial attorneys----as well as anyone who has been victimized by the PAS, can readily diagnose for the PAS based on the presence of Gardner’s eight characteristic symptoms. When one of the eight symptoms is present, the others tend to be present as well; and taken together, they cannot represent any other syndrome, as do so many symptoms of other syndromes. PAS children so incredibly resemble each other that their behaviors, expressions, feelings, and opinions are predictable to the PAS-aware professional and to the targeted/alienated parent. This is why Gardner stated that the PAS is readily diagnosable for anyone who is not blinded----blinded by prejudice, bias, pecuniary interests, indifference, laziness, rescue fantasy, or for any other reason.

I am absolutely convinced that the PAS would garner a kappa score of 1.0!

This is what everyone must write about to the DSM-5 task force: that the PAS unquestionably has enough scientific support worldwide and scientific documentation dating back to the family therapists of the 1950s to attain a kappa score that approaches 1.0. If the PAS is not accepted into the DSM-5, then factors other than scientific support must be influencing the task force.

Once again, the psychiatrists on the DSM-5 task force to whom you should write a letter are:

Short version: The DSM-5
Task Force has extended until July 15 the time for comments from the public. We
urge you to comment by clicking here. We suggest you refer to “Parental
Alienation Relational Problem” (PARP) or “Parental Alienation” and that you
keep your comments brief and to the point

Full version: A coalition
of mental health experts led by psychiatrist William Bernet has been at the
forefront of an effort to add Parental Alienation Disorder to the fifth edition
of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5), the
American Psychiatric Association’s “bible” of diagnoses.

Fathers and Families wants
to ensure that the DSM-5 Task Force is aware of the scope and severity of
Parental Alienation. To this end, in 2009 and 2010 we asked our supporters to
write the Task Force to urge them to consider including Parental Alienation
Disorder in DSM-5. The response was enthusiastic–Dr. Darrel Regier, Vice Chair
of the DSM-5 Task Force, told the Associated Press, “We’ve gotten an enormous
amount of mail–more than [on] any other issue.”

Recently there have been
rumors that the DSM-5 Task Force has already decided not to include Parental
Alienation Disorder in DSM 5. Dr. Bernet recently checked these statements with
members of the DSM-5 leadership, and found that they are not accurate.

According to Dr. Bernet,
the DSM-5 Task Force is still considering the option of adding “parental
alienation relational problem” (PARP), and perhaps other possibilities.

The DSM-5 Task Force has
extended until July 15 the time for comments from the public. We urge you to
comment by clicking here. We suggest you refer to “Parental Alienation
Relational Problem” (PARP) or “Parental Alienation,” and that you keep your
comments brief and to the point.

Source / Fuente:
http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/?p=17308

APPENDIX. The deniers are
not wasting time!

INSTRUCTIONS: After
clicking to enter the DSM 5 page, you'll see that there continues to appear on
"Parental Alienation Disorder." You must register on that page for
comment. After registering you will be sent to another page. I have not seen
there anything about "Parental Alienation" or "Parental
Alienation Relational Problem" (PARP), alluded to in the "Action
Alert" I posted. On page where you are from the DSM 5, put the cursor on
"Proposed revisions" (above) and click on "Proposed Conditions
by Outside Sources". Now you are on the page first, but with the ability
to post your comment.

Spoken by the guy who we normally associate with silent films, this speech will fill your heart and give you goosebumps.

I really don’t feel like there’s must commentary needed for this one. After a week of bickering and crazy happening all over the place, we need to all listen to this and remember what we have to remember through all of this.

This video, to me personally, is what I feel like life is really about. It’s a love affair with humanity, and an effort to make a better world for everyone tomorrow. My favorite quotes (can I just pick the whole video as my favorite quote?) are:

We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. And this world has room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way.

The airplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood and the unity of us all.

For those who can hear me I say, do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed. The bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress, the hate of men will pass, and dictators die. And the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.

Yes, it is idealistic, but it’s still important. It’s not about who’s right the most. It’s about how we help, learn, and love each other.

Take Action - Stop Emotional Abuse

SHARE YOUR STORY

We always encourage all parents and extended family to share experiences of Family Court horrors, or Parental Alienation and its impact on you, your children and family. That way the ripple effect of the information and experiences shared will create positive change for other people who are affected or who may be affected in the future.

Comment anonymously, call yourself whatever you want. Email addresses are strictly confidential, and providing one is optional (but will allow you to be notified of others’ responses and to dialogue immediately if you wish). This blog was viewed over a half a million times. For the public to be aware of procedural abuses, it has to hear about them. The blog author’s own story is here. Civility is the only constraint upon your speech.

The WSJ Law Blog: 2006-2017
-
More than a decade ago, The Wall Street Journal launched Law Blog. It had a
simple name but a novel approach to legal coverage in the pre-Twitter era.
The ...

10 months ago

Posting Rules

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Posts and comments do not reflect the views of this site. Posts and comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Flag as offensive" link below the comment.

By using various interactive features to post content, you are participating in a community intended for all of our users. In general, we reserve the right to remove any content posted on our site at any time for any reason. Without limiting our right to remove content, we have attempted to provide guidelines to those posting on our site. As such, if your behavior becomes a problem for the site or for other users, we may, in our discretion and without warning, ban you. Posting Rules When using this blog, please do not post material that:

§Contains vulgar, profane, abusive, racist or hateful language or expressions, epithets or slurs, text, photographs or illustrations in poor taste, or attacks of a personal, racial or religious nature.

§Discriminates on the grounds of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation or disability, or refers to such matters in any manner prohibited by law.

§Violates or inappropriately encourages the violation of any municipal, state, federal or international law, rule, regulation or ordinance.

§Interferes with any third party's uninterrupted use of this blog.

§Advertises, promotes or offers to trade any goods or services, except in areas specifically designated for such purpose.

§Includes copyrighted or other proprietary material of any kind without the express permission of the owner of that material.

§Uses or attempts to use another's identity, account, password, service or system except as expressly permitted by the Terms of Service of Google's Blogger.

§Contains or links to viruses or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files.

§disrupts, interferes with, or otherwise harms or violates the security of StAugustine.com, or any services, system resources, accounts, passwords, servers or networks connected to or accessible through StAugustine.com or affiliated or linked sites.

§"flames" any individual or entity (e.g., sends repeated messages related to another user and/or makes derogatory or offensive comments about another individual)